Cutting and punching tool for continuous webs



y 7, 1968 D. H. MAGES 3,381,560

CUTTING AND PUNCHING TOOL FOR CONTINUOUS WEBS Filed Oct. 21, 1965 INVENTOR DAVID H. MAGES United States Patent 3,381,560 CUTTING AND PUNCHING TOOL FOR CONTINUOUS WEBS David H. Mages, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Webtron Corporation, a corporation of Illinois Filed Oct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 499,667 9 Claims. (Cl. 83-168) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A two-roller device is provided for cutting through a continuous moving web so as to punch apertures in such web. Spaced guide and bearing port-ions on the rollers together with a punch section on the first roller spaced from a resilient abutment section on the second roller provide a slot-like channel through which the web moves. The punch section is provided with circumferential recesses for each longitudinal section of the web to be punched. A tool with a raised cutting and punching blade is adjustably positioned above a circumferential recess, with the cutting edge of the blade at a position so that all portions of the blade at least contact the resilient periphery of the abutment section on the second roller, so as to fully cut through the web. Mechanical means such as a sloping wall of the circumferential recess, or a clean-out tool in combination with cantilever-mounted aperture-cutting tools, are provided to prevent accumulations of punched waste under the cutting tools.

This invention relates to a tool for effecting cutting and punching of apertures in a continuous web as the web is moving.

In the processing of continuous webs, such as paper webs, it is frequently desirable to provide spaced apertures in the webs for a variety of purposes, such as to serve as a convenient point for register with a feeding mechanism wherein a portion of the feed mechanism is adapted to repeatedly enter spaced apertures as the web moves. Heretofore, in providing accurately formed apertures in continuous webs it has been the practive to temporarily stop the movement of the web and then cause a reciprocating punch to pierce the stationary web. It is clear that such a procedure reduces productivity because of the large amount of time spent when the web is at rest. While it is logical to presume that punching of such apertures while the web is moving would solve the previous problem, all prior attempts to provide a reliable and efficient solution to the problem have resulted in relatively complex mechanisms that have increased the cost of processing of such webs and which require constant servicing.

Thus, one object of this invention is to provide a simple but highly efficient and relatively inexpensive means of cutting and punching apertures in a continuous web as the web is moving.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved rotary cutter and punching means for use with continuous webs, wherein such punching means are selfclearing to prevent accumulations of the punched material and to prevent jamming of the mechanism.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one form of the self-cutting and punching rotary tool' of this invention,

but in an environment that is inverted for purposes of clarity of the tool of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved roll of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the upper roller of the tool as seen in FIG. 1, taken in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tool;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view showing the cooperation of part-s which brings about successful cutting and punching of the web by the tool;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a modified form of construction; and

\FIG. 6 is an end cross-sectional view of still another modified form of construction.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a web generally indicated at 10, of paper or other material, that is arranged to move generally from left to right as seen in FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrow, and which web is intended to have cut and punched therefrom blanks of a size to provide a plurality of apertures 12 through the web. The means for cutting and punching the blanks to form the apertures in the continuous web 10 are arranged to effect such cutting and punching as the web is moving, and such means includes a first roller generally indicated at 14 and a second roller generally indicated at 16, between which is to pass the portion of the web that is to be apertured. It will be understood that normally the first roller is positioned below web 10, but in FIG. 1 is shown above the web for purpose of effecting a more revealing view of the first roller.

The first roller, as best seen in FIG. 2, is axially elongated and provides shaft means, or stubs, 1 8 at the ends thereof adapted for journalling the roller in bearings or the like carried by a framework (not shown). Between the stubs 18 there is a elongated body section 20. The roller 14 includes guide and abutment means in the form of precisely machined cylindrical bearing surfaces 22 and 24, for maintaining precise spacing between the rollers. To the left of the bearing surface 22, as viewed in FIG. 2, there is provided on the stub 18 of the shaft means a drive gear 26 having a mounting collar 27 integral therewith which is appropriately secured to the shaft means 18 by a set screw 27a.

The second roller 16 is best seen in FIG. 1, and it is provided with axially extending shaft means, or stubs, 28 adapted for journalling the roller in bearings carried on the framework (not shown). The second roller provides an elongated body section generally indicated at 30. Mounted on the shaft means 28 are spaced guide and abutment means in the form of precisely machined cylindrical bearing surfaces 32 and 34 that are arranged to respectively engage with the guide and abutment means 22 and 24 on the first roller. The shaft means 28 also carries thereon a drive gear 36 that meshes with the drive gear 26 carried by the first roller. The arrangement is such that the rollers 14 and 16 rotate in unison, with the guide and abutment means thereon moving preferably at the same peripheral speed.

The portion of second roller 16 located between the guide and abutment surfaces 32 and 34 is referred to as an abutment section. Such abutment section is defined by a cylinder, or sleeve, 38 of a resilient or abrasion resistant material. In the preferred form, this sleeve 38 is formed of nylon, and the exterior cylindrical periphery of the sleeve 38 is located in substantially the same cylindrical surface plane as the periphery of the guide means 32 and 34 defined on the second roller.

The portion of the first roller 14 that is located axially between the guide and abutment means 22 and 24 is called the punch section. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the exterior cylindrical periphery 42 of the punch section is spaced radially inwardly of the cylindrical plane in which are located the guide and abutment surfaces 22 and 24. Thus, when the said guide and abutment means on the two rollers engage each other, the periphery of the punch section is spaced from the periphery of the abutment section.

The axial length of the punch section of roller 14 is sufficient to overlay the width of Web since the spacing of the guide and abutment edges 22 and 24 is greater than the width of web 10. The punch section of the first roller 14 is provided with at least one peripheral or circumferential recess 44 therein, depending upon the number of areas in which cutting and punching is to take place in the web 10. Thus, a circumferential recess 44 is provided for each section of the first roller 14 that corresponds with a longitudinal region of the web 10 in which apertures are to be punched. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, where it is intended to produce five apertures 12, a total of five recesses 44 are provided.

At least one peripheral support 46 is provided adjacent each peripheral recess 44. A rectangular notch 48 is provided in each circumferential support 46, and each rectangular notch 48 opens laterally to the adjacent circumferential recess 44. Where a peripheral support 46 is located between two recesses 44, the notch 48 may extend through support 46, as seen in FIG. 2.

A cutting and punching tool, generally indicated at 50, is provided. The tool 50 that is to cut the various apertures 12 may be provided either in the form of individual cutting tools or as a multiple cutting tool, as, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The multiple cutting tool 50 of FIGS. 1 and 2 includes an elongated rectangular mounting bar 52 which is of a dimension to slidably enter into the notches 48 defined in the peripheral supports 46 and to engage the side walls of the notches, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, to be rigidly held against any twisting about the longitudinal axis of the bar 52. When bar 52 is properly positioned in notches 48, the outer surface 52a of the bar is located radially inwardly of the cylindrical plane of the guide and abutment surfaces 22 and 24. The innermost surfaces of the notches 48 defined in supports 46 are drilled and tapped to receive screws 54 which operate to rigidly hold the bar 52 in position on the roller 14.

The portions of the bar 52 that are located axially between the supports 46, and which overlie the peripheral recesses 44, have a shaped cross-section that is best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, and includes a raised cutting and punching blade 56 that projects radially outwardly of bar 52. The cutting and punching blade 56 is formed and arranged to surround a cut-out, or blank, receiving bore 58. The outermost edge of the blade 56 is planar as shown and sharpened to provide a very fine cutting and punching tip. The peripheral shape of the cutting and punching blade 56 is selected to correspond with the shape of the aperture 12 that is to be cut.

The specific details of the cutting and punching blade 56 are best seen in FIG. 4, and provide that an outer wall 60 of the blade slopes laterally outwardly from the terminus of the cutting tip, and the inner wall 62 of the blade also slopes laterally outwardly away from the terminus of the cutting tip so that the bore, or passage, 58 defined thereby is constantly increasing in dimension in the direction radially inwardly of said terminus. The slope of the inner wall 62 is less than the slope of the outer wall 60 so that the blade increases in thickness in the direction from the outermost terminus of its mounting. While sloping walls on the blades are preferred, it is possible to get acceptable results with blades whose walls do not slope.

The cut-out receiving bore 58 is positioned over the peripheral recess 44 and in communication therewith, so that as the bore 58 fills with blanks that have been cut out and punched from the paper web 10, there is pro- 4 i .1 I vided a means for effecting a discharge of these punched sections inwardly through the peripheral recess 44, thereby insuring that there is no clogging of the cutting and punching blade 56 and that the punching means are selfclearing to prevent jamming accumulations of the punched material. Since the first roller is normally positioned below the Web, contrary to what is seen in FIG. 1, the punched sections drop away from the first roller after being dislodged from the cutting blade 56 and its bore 58.

The raised blade 56 extends radially outwardly of the punch section of the roller 14 to a position where it is operable to at least contact the periphery of the abutment section of the roller 16 asthe rollers rotate or to project slightly outwardly of such point of contact. This insures that the blade 56 is operative to completely cut through the web 10 that is passing between the rollers, and insures that there will be a clean cut through the web that will release the cut-out material. The nylon material'of the abutment section 38 of the lower roller 16 engages the cutting tip of the blade 56, but because of the toughness of the nylon, it is operative to receive such contact without becoming shredded, abraded or cut. Sincethe peripheral speeds of the rollers 14 and 16 are arranged to be synchronous, the contact of the cutting blade 56 with the abutment section of roller 16 will take place at the same point for each revolution of the rollers, and this will insure that the portion of the nylon that is contacted by the cutting blade will soon acclimate itself to a precise fit with the cutting blade 56.

In the modified form of device shown in FIG. 5, portions of the roller that correspond with those shown in FIGS. 1-4 are similarly numbered with the addition of a prime mark. Thus, a first roller, generally indicated at 14, is shown wherein there are provided only two peripheral or circumferential recesses 44, and adjacent peripheral or circumferential supports 46'. In the modified form of FIG. 5, individual cutting tools, generally indicated at 50', are provided. Each cutting tool 50' has its own rectangular mounting portion 52' which fits into a notch 48' defined in the peripheral support 46'. A pair of screws 54' are provided for rigidly securing each cutting tool in its notch 48. A portion of each cutting tool then projects, in cantilever style, over the adjacent peripheral recess 44' and defines thereon a cuttingblade 56' that operates in the same manner as the blade 56 previously described. The hub wall 45' spaced below the cutting tools 50 may preferably be recessed or sloped conically in the direction away from support 46 so as to cause the punched waste sections from a web to tend to move axially of the roller and to effect self-clearing of the waste from the first roller. Alternatively, a clean-out tool in the form of an L as seen at 51' in FIG. 5 may be provided for kicking out accumulations of waste from the first roller. The long leg of tool 51 enters into the space between cutting tool 50' and the spaced support 46', while the short leg of tool 51 enters laterally into the space below the cutting tools 50'. Thus, in the form shown in FIG. 5, the cutting and punching tool is cantilever mounted on only one of the peripheral supports 46' that is located adjacent each of the peripheral recess 44'.

Another improved feature is the fact that the first roller 14' as shown in FIG. 5 may be formed by being built up on a hub, or shaft, 70 upon which is mounted a plurality of peripheral ring-like supports 46 each formed by split rings or semi-circular sections of the type shown in FIG. 6. A plurality of such rings 46a, when mounted on a shaft 70, then would appear as in FIG. 5. But the split or segmented rings also have the desirable feature that they may be selectively shifted axially of the hub'70 by loosening upon the clamp screws 72 which are provided and which are positioned in recesses 74 so as not to protrude beyond the periphery of the ring 46a.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and therefore, it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A device for cutting through and punching apertures in a continuous web as the web is moving, said device comprising, in combination: a pair of elongated rollers rotating in unison and between which is to pass the portion of a web that is to be apertured, a first of said rollers providing a punch section and the second said roller providing an abutment section positioned opposite to said punch section, the periphery of said abutment section being defined by a cylindrical layer of relatively resilient but abrasion resistant material that moves synchronously with the first roller, guide and bearing means on said rollers spaced apart a distance greater than the Width of the web and engaging each other to maintain the periphery of the punch section precisely spaced from the periphery of said abutment section, a circumferential recess defined in the punch section of said first roller for each longitudinal region of a web in which apertures are to be punched, the first roller providing at least one circumferential support adjacent each said circumferential recess, at least one cutting and punching tool provided on one said support and having a raised cutting and punching blade surrounding a cut-out receiving bore that is spaced above the circumferential recess, and said raised blade extending radially outwardly of the punch section of the roller to a position where all cutting portions of the blade at least contact the resilient periphery of said abutment section as the rollers are rotated, so as to fully cut through a web passing between the rollers.

2. A device as in claim 1 wherein the said circumferential supports have notches defined therein opening to the adjacent circumferential recess, and the cutting and punching tool is separate from the support and is elongated and has a mounting end that enters into one of said notches to be secured therein.

3. A device as in claim 1 wherein the cutting and punching blade has a planar cutting edge and wherein the periphery of the abutment section lies along substantially the same cylindrical surface plane as the one in which is located the periphery of the guide and bearing means on the second roller, and the planar edge of said raised blade lies substantially in the same cylindrical surface plane as the one in which is located the periphery of the guide means on the first roller.

4. A device as in claim 1 wherein the cutting and punching tool is cantilever mounted on only one circumferential support.

5. A device as in claim 1 wherein the two rollers are caused to rotate in unison without relative movement between the peripheries of the two rollers and the abutment surface of the second roller is formed of nylon.

6. A device as in claim 1 wherein the circumferential recess is shaped to prevent build-up of waste therein between the cutting and punching tool and the walls of the circumferential recess.

7. A device as in claim 6 including a wall of the circumferential recess sloping relative to the axis of the first roller.

8. A device as in claim 1 in combination with a cleanout tool positioned to extend into the circumferential recess, while the first roller is rotating, to prevent accumulations of punched waste.

9. A device as in claim 8 wherein the tool has an extension that projects below the cutting and punching tool.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,649,635 11/ 1927 Willard 83670 X 3,106,121 10/1963 Novick 83346 X 3,209,630 10/ 1965 McCartan 83-346 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,347,752 11/ 1963 France.

ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner. 

